19 March 2009

Starting this week I will be featuring some of our more famous Canadian chefs each week. Through your TV networks, or perhaps on other blogs, or even just right here on More Than Burnt Toast you may have heard of some of them. For those of you who haven't, I hope you will find it interesting to see what our chefs are up to, a little about their history and how they came to love what they do. Laura Calder is a chef who was featured on this blog not that long ago with More Than Burnt Toasts' 2 Year Giveaway. TS of Eating Club Vancouver chose Laura Calder's new book "French Taste" as her prize.

Laura Calder was born and brought up in the province of New Brunswick. Before delving into the cooking world, Calder studied liberal arts and linguistics in Montreal and Toronto, and later received a master's degree from the London School of Economics. She gave up a desk job in an office in Toronto to pursue her dream of becoming a chef. She moved across the country to Vancouver, British Columbia to follow her dream and study.

Her interest in French cuisine began after she worked in California in the wine industry. She met Anne Willan at a food writers’ conference who told her to come to Paris to work on a book about wine and food. She was supposed to stay nine months, but ended up staying seven years. During that time, Laura fell in love with French food!!!

She is the host of "French Food at Home" which is in it's third season on the Canadian Food Network. It is a lifestyle series featuring simple French home cooking which anyone, anywhere, can make. The show is shot in a home kitchen in Nova Scotia where Laura spends her summers, and includes scenes of France, trips to the market, and glimpses of everyday French food life. Laura says, "French food is, above all, a state of mind: caring about the quality and freshness of ingredients, delighting in the kitchen, and indulging in the social and sensual life of the dinner table".

It’s too bad that French food has been so widely misunderstood. People hear the words “French cuisine” and immediately think... heavy sauces, chefs in fancy restaurants and huge textbooks on pastry. In other words, when people think of French food, they imagine haute cuisine and not home cooking!!! I think the time is right for getting back to French home cooking and discovering how it has evolved, how easy it is for anyone, anywhere to make; and how appropriate it is for today.

For the dressing: whisk together the garlic, vinegar, and mustard. Whisk in the oil, adding it in a thin stream. Taste, and add some lemon if the dressing isn’t sharp enough. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.

To serve: toss the lettuce leaves with a very little bit of the vinaigrette and the shredded basil, and arrange on a platter. Toss the tomatoes, potato slices, green beans and artichoke hearts separately in a bit of vinaigrette, and arrange on the platter. Scatter over the onion and olives. Arrange the eggs on top. Season with salt and pepper, and eat.

Serves 2

You are reading this post on More Than Burnt Toast at http://morethanburnttoast.blogspot.com. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to the author/owner of More Than Burnt Toast. All rights reserved by Valerie Harrison.

What fun to learn about famous Canadian chef's! I look forward to lots of yummy recipes! This salad recipe is a keeper for sure. I made salad nicoise this past Fall for relatives that were visiting and it was a huge hit. YUM!

I am so glad you are profiling Canadian chefs! I was thinking of doing the same - or at least cooking from them more often. I love Laura Calder, I have her first book. There are so many great Canadian chefs on tv right now, truly our best television is on FN.ca!

I agree. For most people french cuisine equals fine dining. But France actually has a great tradition of peasant food. Delicious rustic dishes using cheap and plentiful ingredients. The quality of the ingredients is so high they translate into fantastic food.

I love your idea to highlight Canadian chefs. There's so much to learn from other countries.

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This looks yummy....you have a lovely blog...Please check out my blog..It is for food lovers and person who love to cook..You could find so many recipes that you can easily try at home..I update this blog on a regular basis…So please follow me and motivate me..Thank youhttp://yummytummy-aarthi.blogspot.com

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My blog More Than Burnt Toast has been my passion for almost 9 years and has evolved with me over time as I have gained confidence in the kitchen. Follow my travels through Italy and Greece one recipe at a time, upcoming cooking classes at local Okanagan wineries and restaurants, as well as daily experimentation in my own kitchen. Every day we should be excited about what we are eating even if it just means making use of a wonderful find at our local farmers market. I look forward to getting to know you.